Enodis Grants Due Diligence Access To Manitowoc Following Revised OfferEnodis PLC announced July 25 that following consideration of a revised cash offer of 220-pence a share from The Manitowoc Co., it agreed to grant Manitowoc due diligence access. The access was granted based on non-binding assurances from Manitowoc that any further offer will be no less than 220 pence a share. The tentative offer places the total value of Enodis at £892 million, or nearly $1.7 billion at the Aug. 4 exchange rate of $1.90 to a pound.

Enodis said the exercise will cover business, financial, legal and regulatory matters, but also noted there can be no certainty a firm offer will be made.

Enodis also said its "momentum in the business" has continued and said it would issue an update this month.

Curtis Restaurant Equipment Moves Branch To TualatinCurtis Restaurant Equipment, headquartered in Springfield, Ore., has moved its Beaverton, Ore., office to a new, much larger facility in Tualatin.

The new digs, headed up by Branch Manager Kelman Acres, are located about two miles west of I-5, just off the Tualatin-Sherwood Hwy.

The address is 10655 SW Manhasset Drive, Tualatin, OR 97062. The new phone number is
503/691-1872. Fax 503/691-9806.

Curtis Restaurant Equipment also has branch offices in Bend and Medford, Ore.

FER Congratulates Smallwares & Tabletop Competition Winners
The judging process was long and arduous, but finally the dust has settled, and our sister publication, Foodservice Equipment Reports, has released the names of the winners of its Ninth Annual Smallwares & Tabletop Competition, held in July at FER headquarters in Skokie, Ill.

Judges chose nine Smallwares winners from a field of 43 entries:

3M: Scotch-Brite Purple Scour Pad

Cambro: Colanders for Camwear Food Pans

Chicago Metallic: PermaClean Non-Stick Bakery Pan Coating

Chicago Metallic: Mini Fluted-Tube Cake Pan

Cooper-Atkins: Coolit-Rite Thermometer

DayMark: SiliGlove

Food Handler: FormFlex Nitrile Gloves

Rubbermaid: Ingredient Bin System with Scoop

Vollrath: Short-Handled Ladles

The Tabletop category had nine winners from a total of 44 entries:

Front Of House: Sampler Collection

G.E.T. Enterprises: Mosaic Melamine Display Ware

G.E.T. Enterprises: Olympia Melamine Display Ware

Hollowick: FX LED tealight

Hollowick: Lighthouse Lamps

Riverside Design Group: Elements CollectionStainless Steel Line

Service Ideas: Lotus Tea Pot

Vollrath Co.: Square Double Wall Serving Bowls

Vollrath Co.: FoodFrames Modular Buffet System

This year's panel of judges included three national dealer representatives and four operators (two of them chefs). Look for full coverage of the competition in FER's October issue.

ServSafe Offers On-Line Version of Latest EditionThe National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation now has an online version of its ServSafe Manager Certification course. The online course of this fourth edition is self-paced and easy to navigate, and includes audio and video instruction, interactive lessons and practice tests. It also has a special bilingual feature that allows users to switch between English and Spanish at any time.

Designed to prepare users for the ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification exam, the course contains study guides and a book mark feature that lets users know where they left off. The course is accepted in jurisdictions where 16 hours of food safety training are required.

Through Sept. 30, the online course is available from NRAEF for the discounted price of $99. Use the "99NOW" promotional code when ordering. For more information, go to www.nraef.org.

NSF Sponsors Food Safety ConferenceNSF Int'l., along with the FDA, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Centers for Disease Control and others, will be hosting a cutting-edge conference on food safety next month.

The 2006 Food Safety Education Conference, titled "Reaching At-Risk Audiences and Today's Other Food Safety Challenges," offers a three-day program that includes presentations on the latest research, technologies and safety programs. Industry, government and health experts also plan two days of pre-conference workshops on a variety of special topics.